quattro Digest, Vol 15, Issue 43

[Alex Kowalski]

Hi Tess,

I agree with Huw and Ed, it sounds like you have a short if the fuse keeps blowing, and it seems to be getting more reliably bad.  Have you installed/removed anything else electrical in the car recently?  You might even try replacing the fuse, opening the trunk lid and then starting the car and trying the cluster lights...if you move the connection slightly it could temporarily 'fix' the short and at least give you an idea of where it is.

Alex
'87 5KCSTQ



> Message: 6
> Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2005 14:37:34 -0800 (PST)
> From: Tessie McMillan <tessmc at drizzle.com>
> Subject: why does this fuse keep blowing?
> To: quattro at audifans.com
> Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0501101037230.25077-100000 at drizzle.com>
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
> 
> Hi folks, does anyone possibly have an idea about this oddball problem? 
> The instrument cluster in my '88 80Q no longer lights when I engage my 
> headlights.
> 
> It used to be that whenever I encountered this problem, I would find a 
> blown 10 amp fuse in about the middle of my fuse box and replacing the 
> fuse would fix everything. Now, however, I can replace the fuse, but as 
> soon as I start the car, the fuse is blown again. I've gone through many 
> fuses trying this out -- with various/all accessories turned on and off.
> 
> What could be the culprit? The only other 'odd' electrical issues I have 
> are that my heater fan is only working on the top heater fan settings, and 
> my fuel pump (I think I've replaced it once before) just recently started 
> humming. Could either of these cause some kind of overload that is 
> affecting the cluster?
> 
> Any other way to troubleshoot this?
> 
> Tess
> in Bellevue, WA USA